LGMax Battery

I was flabergasted that a non-maintenance free battery was being used in the new LGMax we purchased. Dealer said it was due to cost. Really? I haven't seen a maintainable battery since the 80s. Hard to believe there is one here. Anyone see a reason for this? Is there an issue with replacing it with a deep cycle marine battery? I was going to purchase an extra one to have around anyway. Just wondering what everyone else did if anything. Thank you. -Z-

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I’m not sure who is responsible for the battery installed in the trailer upon purchase. LGM or the dealer? We had our dealer put a 27 deep cycle battery in our Max when we purchased it. It was a minor up-grade cost $20. It didn’t work well for us. It charged well when in full sun with the solar and we would fully charge it with shore power before heading out to camp, but after 9 months or so didn’t want to hold a charge, very frustrating not to have battery power when camping!!!!

We made the leap and purchased a Lithium Battery instead and I can’t say enough good things about it. First and foremost you don’t have to babysit the battery. Once you charge it to full capacity It will stay fully charged if not connected/in use for up to a year (no trickle charging needed). It charges way faster, stays charged longer and has a longer life than a marine battery. We purchased the 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery from Battle Born Batteries. I liked that they are made in the USA too.

We added a Progressive Dynamics 12V 30-amp LiFePO4 Battery Charger - in the compartment next to the water heater and wired it to the battery to charge it when the trailer is plugged into shore power. The standard charger in the trailer worked, but not well. It will not charge the Lithium battery to full capacity and takes quite a bit longer to charge. The PD LiFePO4 is made specifically for Lithium batteries.

We also have a Zamp 180 Watt Portable Solar Charging System and added a side port to connect it to the battery. This allows us to charge the battery when dry camping and the trailer is parked in the shade. We move the Zamp suitcase wherever the sun is. Zamp works great to charge the Battle Born Battery.

We’ve been using this new LiFeP04 battery for almost a year, and I would never go back to a deep cycle marine battery again. Hands down one of the best purchases we made for our LGM. Expensive, but since we dry camp almost exclusively, it's worth the $$$ to have power when we need it!

We had a couple of rainy days when boondocking and decided to upgrade to 2 large 6 volt batteries and never worried again. I do have to service them. I open them and check the water level. I carry a gallon of distilled water but so far I haven't had to use any. No big deal. Also added a 2nd propane tank. Never worry about running out on a cold night.

"Our
batteries are safe. All Battle Born Batteries use the safest and most
stable components, including a LiFePO4 cathode and a built-in Battery
Management System (BMS).
The BMS protects the cells against excessively high or low voltages,
high currents, short circuits, and excessive heat or cold. These are the
most common causes of battery failures, and we have taken every
precaution to mitigate these risks in all of our batteries. In addition,
all of our cells are manufactured in a state-of-the-art automated
facility, and each cell is cycled multiple times to ensure quality and
consistency.

Li-ion batteries can
actually be safer than Lead acid batteries, which have no protection
against ground faults. Our batteries have a built in BMS that protects
against ground faults.

We strive to include
all the best safety features into our battery, this is what makes us a
leader in the deep cycle replacement market. We are constantly
developing new innovations to increase safety in our batteries. At this
point we feel we have one of the best systems available today."